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though very common among Arab men. In Egypt, however, according to Godard,
Kocher, and others, it is almost fashionable, and every woman in the harem
has a "friend." In Turkey homosexuality is sometimes said to be rare among
women. But it would appear to be found in the harems and women's baths of
Turkey, as well as of Islam generally. Brantôme in the sixteenth century
referred to the Lesbianism of Turkish women at the baths, and Leo
Africanus in the same century mentioned the tribadism of Moorish women and
the formal organization of tribadic prostitution in Fez. There was an
Osmanli Sapphic poetess, Mihiri, whose grave is at Amasia, and Vambery and
Achestorides agree as to the prevalence of feminine homosexuality in
Turkey.[152] Among the negroes and mulattoes of French creole countries,
according to Corre, homosexuality is very common. "I know a lady of great
beauty," he remarks, "a stranger in Guadalupe and the mother of a family,
who is obliged to stay away from the markets and certain shops because of
the excessive admiration of mulatto women and negresses, and the impudent
invitations which they dare to address to her."[153] He refers to several
cases of more or less violent sexual attempts by women on young colored
girls of 12 or 14, and observes that such attempts by men on children of
their own sex are much rarer.
In China (according to Matignon) and in Cochin China (according to
Lorion) homosexuality does not appear to be common among women. In India,
however, it is probably as prevalent among women as it certainly is among
men.
In the first edition of this Study I quoted the opinion of Dr.
Buchanan, then Superintendant of the Central Gaol of Bengal at
Bhagalpur, who informed me that he had never come across a case
and that his head-gaoler had never heard of such a thing in
twenty-five years' experience. Another officer in the Indian
Medical Service assures me, however, that there cannot be the
least doubt as to the frequency of homosexuality among women in
India, either inside or outside gaols. I am indebted to him for
the following notes on this point:--
"That homosexual relationships are common enough among Indian
women is evidenced by the fact that the Hindustani language has
five words to denote the tribade: (1) _dúgáná_, (2) _zanŕkhé_,
(3) _sa'tar_, (4) _chapathái_, and (5) _chapatbáz_. The _modus
operandi_ is generally what Martial calls _geminos committere
cunnos_, but sometimes a phallus, called _saburah_, is employed.
The act itself is called _chapat_ or _chapti_, and the Hindustani
poets, Nazir, Rangin, Ján S'áheb, treat of Lesbian love very
extensively and sometimes very crudely. Ján S'áheb, a woman poet,
sings to the effect that intercourse with a woman by means of a
phallus is to be preferred to the satisfaction offered by a male
lover. The common euphemism employed when speaking of two
tribades who live together is that they 'live apart.' So much for
the literary evidence as to the prevalence of what, _mirable
dictu_, Dr. Buchanan's gaoler was ignorant of.
"Now for facts. In the gaol of R. the superintendent discovered a
number of phalli in the females' inclosure; they were made of
clay and sun-dried and bore marks of use. In the gaol of S. was a
woman who (as is usual with tribades in India) wore male attire,
and was well known for her sexual proclivities. An examination
revealed the following: Face much lined, mammć of masculine type,
but nipples elongated and readily erectile; gluteal and iliac
regions quite of masculine type, as also the thighs; clitoris,
with enlarged glands, readily erectile; nymphć thickened and
enlarged; vulvar orifice patent, for she had in early youth been
a prostitute; the voice was almost contralto. Her partner was of
low type, but eminently feminine in configuration and manner. In
this case I heard that 'the man' went to a local ascetic and
begged his intercession with the deity, so that she might
impregnate her partner. ('The Hindoo medical works mention the
possibility of a woman uniting with another woman in sexual
embraces and begetting a boneless fetus.' _Short History of Aryan
Medical Science_, p. 44.)
"In the town of D. there 'lived apart' two women, one a Brahmin,
the other a grazier; their _modus operandi_ was tribadism, as an
eyewitness informed me. In S. I was called in to treat the widow
of a wealthy Mohammedan; I had occasion to examine the pudenda,
and found what Martineau would have called the indelible stigmata
of early masturbation and later sapphism. She admitted the
impeachment and confessed that she was on the best of terms with
her three remarkably well-formed and good-looking handmaidens.
This lady said that she began masturbation at an early age, 'just
like all other women,' and that sapphism came after the age of
puberty. Another Mohammedan woman whom I knew, and who had a very
large clitoris, told me that she had been initiated into Lesbian
love at 12 by a neighbor and had intermittently practised it ever
since. I might also instance two sisters of the gardener caste,
both widows, who 'lived apart' and indulged in simultaneous
sapphism.
"That sometimes the actors in tribadism are most vigorous is
shown by the fact that, in the central gaol of ----, swelling of
the vulva was admitted to have been caused by the embraces of two
female convicts. The subordinate who told me this mentioned it
quite incidentally while relating his experiences as hospital
assistant at this gaol. When I questioned him he stated that the
woman, whom he was called to treat, told him that she could never
'satisfy herself' with men, but only with women. He added that
tribadism was 'quite common in the gaol.'"
The foregoing sketch may serve to show that homosexual practices
certainly, and probably definite sexual inversion, are very widespread
among women in very many and various parts of the world, though it is
likely that, as among men, there are variations--geographical, racial,
national, or social--in the frequency or intensity of its obvious
manifestations. Thus, in the eighteenth century, Casanova remarked that
the women of Provence are specially inclined to Lesbianism.
In European prisons homosexual practices flourish among the women fully as
much, it may probably be said, as among the men. There is, indeed, some
reason for supposing that these phenomena are here sometimes even more
decisively marked than among men.[154] This prevalence of homosexuality
among women in prison is connected with the close relationship between
feminine criminality and prostitution.
The frequency of homosexual practices among prostitutes is a fact of some
interest, and calls for special explanation, for, at the first glance, it
seems in opposition to all that we know concerning the exciting causes of
homosexuality. Regarding the fact there can be no question.[155] It has
been noted by all who are acquainted with the lives of prostitutes, though
opinion may differ as to its frequency. In Berlin, Moll was told in
well-informed quarters, the proportion of prostitutes with Lesbian
tendencies is about 25 per cent. This was almost the proportion at Paris
many years ago, according to Parent-Duchâtelet; today, according to
Chevalier, it is larger; and Bourneville believes that 75 per cent, of the
inmates of the Parisian venereal hospitals have practised homosexuality.
Hammer in Germany has found among 66 prostitutes that 41 were
homosexual.[156] Hirschfeld thinks that inverted women are specially prone
to become prostitutes.[157] Eulenburg believes, on the other hand, that
the conditions of their life favor homosexuality among prostitutes; "a
homosexual union seems to them higher, purer, more innocent, and more
ideal."[158] There is, however, no fundamental contradiction between these
two views; they are probably both right.
In London, so far as my inquiries extend, homosexuality among prostitutes
is very much less prevalent, and in a well-marked form is confined to a
comparatively small section. I am indebted to a friend for the following
note: "From my experience of the Parisian prostitute, I gather that
Lesbianism in Paris is extremely prevalent; indeed, one might almost say
normal. In particular, most of the chahut-dancers of the Moulin-Rouge,
Casino de Paris, and the other public balls are notorious for going in
couples, and, for the most part, they prefer not to be separated, even in
their most professional moments with the other sex. In London the thing
is, naturally, much less obvious, and, I think, much less prevalent; but
it is certainly not infrequent. A certain number of well-known prostitutes
are known for their tendencies in this direction, which do not, however,
interfere in any marked way with the ordinary details of their profession.
I do not personally know of a single prostitute who is exclusively
Lesbian; I have heard vaguely that there are one or two such anomalies.
But I have heard a swell _cocotte_ at the Corinthian announce to the whole
room that she was going home with a girl; and no one doubted the
statement. Her name, indeed, was generally coupled with that of a
fifth-rate actress. Another woman of the same kind has a little clientele
of women who buy her photographs in Burlington Arcade. In the lower ranks
of the profession all this is much less common. One often finds women who
have simply never heard of such a thing; they know of it in regard to men,
but not in regard to women. And they are, for the most part, quite
horrified at the notion, which they consider part and parcel of 'French
beastliness.' Of course, almost every girl has her friend, and, when not
separately occupied, they often sleep together; but, while in separate,
rare cases, this undoubtedly means all that it can mean, for the most
part, so far as one can judge, it means no more than it would mean among
ordinary girls."
It is evident that there must be some radical causes for the frequency of
homosexuality among prostitutes. One such cause doubtless lies in the
character of the prostitute's relations with men; these relations are of a
professional character, and, as the business element becomes emphasized,
the possibility of sexual satisfaction diminishes; at the best, also;
there lacks the sense of social equality, the feeling of possession, and
scope for the exercise of feminine affection and devotion. These the
prostitute must usually be forced to find either in a "bully" or in
another woman.[159]
Apart from this fact it must be borne in mind that, in a very large number
of cases, prostitutes show in slight or more marked degree many of the
signs of neurotic heredity,[160] and it would not be surprising if they
present the germs of homosexuality in an unusually high degree. The life
of the prostitute may well develop such latent germs; and so we have an
undue tendency to homosexuality, just as we have it among criminals, and,
to a much less extent, among persons of genius and intellect.
Homosexuality is specially fostered by those employments which keep women
in constant association, not only by day, but often at night also, without
the company of men. This is, for instance, the case in convents, and
formerly, at all events,--however, it may be today,--homosexuality was
held to be very prevalent in convents. This was especially so in the
eighteenth century when very many young girls, without any religious
vocation, were put into convents.[161] The same again is today the case
with the female servants in large hotels, among whom homosexual practices
nave been found very common.[162] Laycock, many years ago, noted the
prevalence of manifestations of this kind, which he regarded as
hysterical, among seamstresses, lace-makers, etc., confined for hours in
close contact with one another in heated rooms. The circumstances under
which numbers of young women are employed during the day in large shops
and factories, and sleep in the establishment, two in a room or even two
in a bed, are favorable to the development of homosexual practices.
In England it is seldom that anyone cares to investigate these
phenomena, though, they certainly exist. They have been more
thoroughly studied elsewhere. Thus, in Rome, Niceforo, who
studied various aspects of the lives of the working classes,
succeeded in obtaining much precise information concerning the
manners and customs of the young girls in dressmaking and
tailoring work-rooms. He remarks that few of those who see the
"virtuous daughters of the people," often not more than 12 years
old, walking along the streets with the dressmaker's box under
their arm, modestly bent head and virginal air, realize the
intense sexual preoccupations often underlying these appearances.
In the work-rooms the conversation perpetually revolves around
sexual subjects in the absence of the mistress or forewoman, and
even in her presence the slang that prevails in the work-rooms
leads to dialogues with a double meaning. A state of sexual
excitement is thus aroused which sometimes relieves itself
mentally by psychic onanism, sometimes by some form of
masturbation; one girl admitted to Niceforo that by allowing her
thoughts to dwell on the subject while at work she sometimes
produced physical sexual excitement as often as four times a day.
(See also vol. i of these _Studies_, "Auto-erotism.") Sometimes,
however, a vague kind of homosexuality is produced, the girls,
excited by their own thoughts and their conversation, being still
further excited by contact with each other. "In summer, in one
work-room, some of the girls wear no drawers, and they unbutton
their bodices, and work with crossed legs, more or less
uncovered. In this position, the girls draw near and inspect one
another; some boast of their white legs, and, then the petticoats
are raised altogether for more careful comparison. Many enjoy
this inspection of nudity, and experience real sexual pleasure.
From midday till 2 P.M., during the hours of greatest heat, when
all are in this condition, and the mistress, in her chemise (and
sometimes, with no shame at the workers' presence, even without
it), falls asleep on the sofa, all the girls, _without one
exception_, masturbate themselves. The heat seems to sharpen
their desires and morbidly arouse all their senses. The
voluptuous emotions, restrained during the rest of the day, break
out with irresistible force; stimulated by the spectacle of each
other's nakedness, some place their legs together and thus
heighten the spasm by the illusion of contact with a man." In
this way they reach mutual masturbation. "It is noteworthy,
however," Niceforo points out, "that these couples for mutual
masturbation are never Lesbian couples. Tribadism is altogether
absent from the factories and work-rooms." He even believes that
it does not exist among girls of the working class. He further
describes how, in another work-room, during the hot hours of the
day in summer, when no work is done, some of the girls retire
into the fitting-room, and, having fastened their chemises round
their legs and thighs with pins, so as to imitate trousers, play
at being men and pretend to have intercourse with the others.
(Niceforo, _Il Gergo_, cap. vi, 1897, Turin.) I have reproduced
these details from Niceforo's careful study because, although
they may seem to be trivial at some points, they clearly bring
out the very important distinction between a merely temporary
homosexuality and true inversion. The amusements of these young
girls may not be considered eminently innocent or wholesome, but,
on the other hand, they are not radically morbid or vicious. They
are strictly, and even consciously, _play_; they are dominated by
the thought that the true sexual ideal is normal relationship
with a man, and they would certainly disappear in the presence of
a man.
It must be remembered that Niceforo's observations were made
among girls who were mostly young. In the large factories, where
many adult women are employed, the phenomena tend to be rarer,
but of much less trivial and playful character. At Wolverhampton,
some forty years ago, the case was reported of a woman in a
galvanizing "store" who, after dinner, indecently assaulted a
girl who was a new hand. Two young women held the victim down,
and this seems to show that homosexual vice was here common and
recognized. No doubt, this case is exceptional in its brutality.
It throws, however, a significant light on the conditions
prevailing in factories. In Spain, in the large factories where
many adult women are employed, especially in the great tobacco
factory at Seville, Lesbian relationships seem to be not
uncommon. Here the women work in an atmosphere which in summer is
so hot that they throw off the greater part of their clothing, to
such an extent that a bell is rung whenever a visitor is
introduced into a work-room, in order to warn the workers. Such
an environment predisposes to the formation of homosexual
relationships. When I was in Spain some years ago an incident
occurred at the Seville Fábrica de Tabacos which attracted much
attention in the newspapers, and, though it was regarded as
unusual, it throws light on the life of the workers. One morning
as the women were entering the work-room and amid the usual scene
of animation changing their Manila shawls for the light costume
worn during work, one drew out a small clasp-knife and, attacking
another, rapidly inflicted six or seven wounds on her face and
neck, threatening to kill anyone who approached. Both these
_cigarreras_ were superior workers, engaged in the most skilled
kind of work, and had been at the factory for many years. In
appearance they were described as presenting a striking contrast:
the aggressor, who was 48 years of age, was of masculine air,
tall and thin, with an expression of firm determination on her
wrinkled face; the victim, on the other hand, whose age was 30,
was plump and good-looking and of pleasing disposition. The
reason at first assigned for the attack on the younger woman was
that her mother had insulted the elder woman's son. It appeared,
however, that a close friendship had existed between the two
women, that latterly the younger woman had formed a friendship
with the forewoman of her work-room, and that the elder woman,
animated by jealousy, then resolved to murder both; this design
was frustrated by the accidental absence of the forewoman that
day.
In theaters the abnormal sexuality stimulated by such association in work
is complicated by the general tendency for homosexuality to be connected
with dramatic aptitude, a point to which I shall have to refer later on. I
am indebted to a friend for the following note: "Passionate friendships
among girls, from the most innocent to the most elaborate excursions in
the direction of Lesbos, are extremely common in theaters, both among
actresses and, even more, among chorus-and ballet-girls. Here the
pell-mell of the dressing-rooms, the wait of perhaps two hours between the
performances, during which all the girls are cooped up, in a state of
inaction and of excitement, in a few crowded dressing-rooms, afford every
opportunity for the growth of this particular kind of sentiment. In most
of the theaters there is a little circle of girls, somewhat avoided by the
others, or themselves careless of further acquaintanceship, who profess
the most unbounded devotion to one another. Most of these girls are
equally ready to flirt with the opposite sex, but I know certain ones
among them who will scarcely speak to a man, and who are never seen
without their particular 'pal' or 'chum,' who, if she gets moved to
another theater, will come around and wait for her friend at the
stage-door. But here, again, it is but seldom that the experience is
carried very far. The fact is that the English girl, especially of the
lower and middle classes, whether she has lost her virtue or not, is
extremely fettered by conventional notions. Ignorance and habit are two
restraining influences from the carrying out of this particular kind of
perversion to its logical conclusions. It is, therefore, among the upper
ranks, alike of society and of prostitution, that Lesbianism is most
definitely to be met with, for here we have much greater liberty of
action, and much greater freedom from prejudices."
With girls, as with boys, it is in the school, at the evolution of
puberty, that homosexuality usually first shows itself. It may originate
in a way mainly peripheral or mainly central. In the first case, two
children, perhaps when close to each other in bed, more or less
unintentionally generate in each other a certain amount of sexual
irritation, which they foster by mutual touching and kissing. This is a
spurious kind of homosexuality, the often precocious play of the normal
instinct. In the girl who is congenitally predisposed to homosexuality it
will continue and develop; in the majority it will be forgotten as quickly
as possible, not without shame, in the presence of the normal object of
sexual love.
I may quote as fairly typical the following observation supplied
by a lady who cannot be called inverted: "Like so many other
children and girls, I was first taught self-indulgence by a girl
at school, and I passed on my knowledge to one or two others,
with one of whom I remember once, when we were just 16, spending
the night sensually. We were horribly ashamed after, and that was
the only time. When I was only 8 there was a girl of 13 who liked
to play with my body, and taught me to play with hers, though I
rather disliked doing so. We slept together, and this went on at
intervals for six months. These things, for the sake of getting
enjoyment, and not with any passion, are not uncommon with
children, but less common, I think, than people sometimes
imagine. I believe I could recall without much difficulty, the
number of times such things happened with me. In the case I
mentioned when I did for one night feel--or try to excite in
myself and my girl-companion of 16--sensual passion, we had as
little children slept together a few times and done these things,
and meeting after an absence, just at that age, recalled our
childish memories, and were carried away by sexual impulse. But I
never felt any peculiar affection or passion for her even at the
time, nor she for me. We only felt that our sensual nature was
strong at the time, and had betrayed us into something we were
ashamed of, and, therefore, we avoided letting ourselves sleep
too close after that day. I think we disliked each other, and
were revolted whenever we thought of that night, feeling that
each had degraded the other and herself."
The cases in which the source is mainly central, rather than peripheral,
nevertheless merge into the foregoing, with no clear line of demarcation.
In such cases a girl forms an ardent attachment for another girl, probably
somewhat older than herself, often a schoolfellow, sometimes her
schoolmistress, upon whom she will lavish an astonishing amount of
affection and devotion. There may or not be any return; usually the return
consists of a gracious acceptance of the affectionate services. The girl
who expends this wealth of devotion is surcharged with emotion, but she is
often unconscious or ignorant of the sexual impulse, and she seeks for no
form of sexual satisfaction. Kissing and the privilege of sleeping with
the friend are, however, sought, and at such times it often happens that
even the comparatively unresponsive friend feels more or less definite
sexual emotion (pudendal turgescence, with secretion of mucus and
involuntary twitching of the neighboring muscles), though little or no
attention may be paid to this phenomenon, and in the common ignorance of
girls concerning sex matters it may not be understood. In some cases there
is an attempt, either instinctive or intentional, to develop the sexual
feeling by close embraces and kissing. This rudimentary kind of homosexual
relationship is, I believe, more common among girls than among boys, and
for this there are several reasons: (1) a boy more often has some
acquaintance with sexual phenomena, and would frequently regard such a
relationship as unmanly; (2) the girl has a stronger need of affection
and self-devotion to another person than a boy has; (3) she has not, under
our existing social conditions which compel young women to hold the
opposite sex at arm's length, the same opportunities of finding an outlet
for her sexual emotions; while (4) conventional propriety recognizes a
considerable degree of physical intimacy between girls, thus at once
encouraging and cloaking the manifestations of homosexuality.
The ardent attachments which girls in schools and colleges form to each
other and to their teachers constitute a subject which is of considerable
psychological interest and of no little practical importance.[163] These
girlish devotions, on the borderland between friendship and sexual
passion, are found in all countries where girls are segregated for
educational purposes, and their symptoms are, on the whole, singularly
uniform, though they vary in intensity and character to some extent, from
time to time and from place to place, sometimes assuming an epidemic form.
They have been most carefully studied in Italy, where Obici and
Marchesini--an alienist and a psychologist working in conjunction--have
analyzed the phenomena with remarkable insight and delicacy and much
wealth of illustrative material.[164] But exactly the same phenomena are
everywhere found in English girls' schools, even of the most modern type,
and in some of the large American women's colleges they have sometimes
become so acute as to cause much anxiety.[165] On the whole, however, it
is probable that such manifestations are regarded more indulgently in
girls' than in boys' schools, and in view of the fact that the
manifestations of affection are normally more pronounced between girls
than between boys, this seems reasonable. The head mistress of an English
training college writes:--
"My own assumption on such, matters has been that affection does naturally
belong to the body as well as the mind, and between two women is naturally
and innocently expressed by, caresses. I have never therefore felt that I
ought to warn any girl against the physical element in friendship, as
such. The test I should probably suggest to them would be the same as one
would use for any other relation--was the friendship helping life as a
whole, making them keener, kinder, more industrious, etc., or was it
hindering it?"
Passionate friendships, of a more or less unconsciously sexual character,
are common even outside and beyond school-life. It frequently happens that
a period during which a young woman falls in love at a distance with some
young man of her acquaintance alternates with periods of intimate
attachment to a friend of her own sex. No congenital inversion is usually
involved. It generally happens, in the end, either that relationship with
a man brings the normal impulse into permanent play, or the steadying of
the emotions in the stress of practical life leads to a knowledge of the
real nature of such feelings and a consequent distaste for them. In some
cases, on the other hand, such relationships, especially when formed after
school-life, are fairly permanent. An energetic emotional woman, not
usually beautiful, will perhaps be devoted to another who may have found
some rather specialized lifework, but who may be very unpractical, and who
has probably a very feeble sexual instinct; she is grateful for her
friends's devotion, but may not actively reciprocate it. The actual
specific sexual phenomena generated in such cases vary very greatly. The
emotion may be latent or unconscious; it may be all on one side; it is
often more or less recognized and shared. Such cases are on the borderland
of true sexual inversion, but they cannot be included within its region.
Sex in these relationships is scarcely the essential and fundamental
element; it is more or less subordinate and parasitic. There is often a
semblance of a sex-relationship from the marked divergence of the friends
in physical and psychic qualities, and the nervous development of one or
both the friends is sometimes slightly abnormal. We have to regard such
relationships as hypertrophied friendships, the hypertrophy being due to
unemployed sexual instinct.
The following narrative is written by a lady who holds a
responsible educational position: "A friend of mine, two or three
years older than myself (I am 31), and living in the same house
with me, has been passing through a very unhappy time. Long
nervous strain connected with this has made her sleep badly, and
apt to wake in terrible depression about 3 o'clock in the
morning. In the early days of our friendship, about eight months
ago, she occasionally at these times took refuge with me. After a
while I insisted on her consulting a doctor, who advised her,
amongst other things, not to sleep alone. Thenceforth for two or
three months I induced her to share my room. After a week or two
she generally shared my bed for a time at the beginning of the
night, as it seemed to help her to sleep.
"Before this, about the second or third time that she came to me
in the early morning, I had been surprised and a little
frightened to find how pleasant it was to me to have her, and how
reluctant I was that she should go away. When we began regularly
to sleep in the same room, the physical part of our affection
grew rapidly very strong. It is natural for me generally to
caress my friends, but I soon could not be alone in a room with
this one without wanting to have my arms round her. It would have
been intolerable to me to live with her without being able to
touch her. We did not discuss it, but it was evident that the
desire was even stronger in her than in me.
"For some time it satisfied us fully to be in bed together. One
night, however, when she had had a cruelly trying day and I
wanted to find all ways of comforting her, I bared by breast for
her to lie on. Afterward it was clear that neither of us could be
satisfied without this. She groped for it like a child, and it
excited me much more to feel that than to uncover my breast and
arms altogether at once.
"Much of this excitement was sexually localized, and I was
haunted in the daytime by images of holding this woman in my
arms. I noticed also that my inclination to caress my other women
friends was not diminished, but increased. All this disturbed me
a good deal. The homosexual practices of which I had read lately
struck me as merely nasty; I could not imagines myself tempted to
them;--at the same time the whole matter was new to me, for I had
never wanted anyone even to share my bed before; I had read that
sex instinct was mysterious and unexpected, and I felt that I did
not know what might come next.
"I knew only one elder person whom (for wide-mindedness,
gentleness, and saintliness) I could bear to consult; and to this
person, a middle-aged man, I wrote for advice. He replied by a
long letter of the most tender warning. I had better not weaken
my influence with my friend, he wrote, by going back suddenly or
without her consent, but I was to be very wary of going further;
there was fire about. I tried to put this into practice by
restraining myself constantly in our intercourse, by refraining
from caressing her, for instance, when I wanted to caress her and
knew that she wanted it. The only result seemed to be that the
desire was more tormenting and constant than ever.
"If at this point my friend had happened to die or go away, and
the incident had come to an end, I should probably have been left
nervous in these matters for years to come. I should have
faltered in the opinion I had always held, that bodily
expressions of love between women were as innocent as they were
natural; and I might have come nearer than I ever expected to the
doctrine of those convent teachers who forbid their girls to
embrace one another for fear an incalculable instinct should
carry them to the edge of an abyss.
"As it was, after a while I said a little on the subject to my
friend herself. I had been inclined to think that she might share
my anxiety, but she did not share it at all. She said to me that
she did not like these thoughts, that she cared for me more than
She had ever done for any person except one (now causing most of
her unhappiness), and wanted me in all possible ways, and that it
would make her sad to feel that I was trying not to want her in
one way because I thought it was wrong.
"On my part, I knew very well how much she did need and want me.
I knew that in relations with others she was spending the
greatest effort in following a course that I urged on her, and
was doing what I thought right in spite of the most painful
pressure on her to do wrong; and that she needed all the support
and comfort I could give her. It seemed to me, after our
conversation, that the right path for me lay not in giving way to
fears and scruples, but in giving my friend straightforwardly all
the love I could and all the kinds of love I could. I decided to
keep my eyes open for danger, but meanwhile to go on.
"We were living alone together at the time, and thenceforward we
did as we liked doing. As soon as we could, we moved to a bed
where we could sleep together all night. In the day when no one
was there we sat as close together as we wished, which was very
close. We kissed each other as often as we wanted to kiss each
other, which was very many times a day.
"The results of this, so far as I can see, have been wholly good.
We love each other warmly, but no temptation to nastiness has
ever come, and I cannot see now that it is at all likely to come.
With custom, the localized physical excitement has practically
disappeared, and I am no longer obsessed by imagined embraces.
The spiritual side of our affection seems to have grown steadily
stronger and more profitable since the physical side has, been
allowed to take its natural place."
A class in which homosexuality, while fairly distinct, is only slightly
marked, is formed by the women to whom the actively inverted woman is most
attracted. These women differ, in the first place, from the normal, or
average, woman in that they are not repelled or disgusted by lover-like
advances from persons of their own sex. They are not usually attractive to
the average man, though to this rule there are many exceptions. Their
faces may be plain or ill-made, but not seldom they possess good figures:
a point which is apt to carry more weight with the inverted woman than
beauty of face. Their sexual impulses are seldom well marked, but they are
of strongly affectionate nature. On the whole, they are women who are not
very robust and well developed, physically or nervously, and who are not
well adapted for child-bearing, but who still possess many excellent
qualities, and they are always womanly. One may, perhaps, say that they
are the pick of the women whom the average man would pass by. No doubt,
this is often the reason why they are open to homosexual advances, but I
do not think it is the sole reason. So far as they may be said to
constitute a class, they seem to possess a genuine, though not precisely
sexual, preference for women over men, and it is this coldness, rather
than lack of charm, which often renders men rather indifferent to them.
The actively inverted woman usually differs from the woman of the class
just mentioned in one fairly essential character: a more or less distinct
trace of masculinity. She may not be, and frequently is not, what would be
called a "mannish" woman, for the latter may imitate men on grounds of
taste and habit unconnected with sexual perversion, while in the inverted
woman the masculine traits are part of an organic instinct which she by no
means always wishes to accentuate. The inverted woman's masculine element
may, in the least degree, consist only in the fact that she makes advances
to the woman to whom she is attracted and treats all men in a cool,
direct manner, which may not exclude comradeship, but which excludes every
sexual relationship, whether of passion or merely of coquetry. Usually the
inverted woman feels absolute indifference toward men, and not seldom
repulsion. And this feeling, as a rule, is instinctively reciprocated by
men. At the same time bisexual women are at least as common as bisexual
men.
HISTORY XXXIV.--Miss S., aged 38, living in a city of the United
States, a business woman of fine intelligence, prominent in
professional and literary circles. Her general health is good,
but she belongs to a family in which there is a marked
neuropathic element. She is of rather phlegmatic temperament,
well poised, always perfectly calm and self-possessed, rather
retiring in disposition, with gentle, dignified bearing.
She says she cannot care for men, but that all her life has been
"glorified and made beautiful by friendship with women," whom she
loves as a man loves women. Her character is, however, well
disciplined, and her friends are not aware of the nature of her
affections. She tries not to give all her love to one person, and
endeavors (as she herself expresses it) to use this "gift of
loving" as a stepping-stone to high mental and spiritual
attainments. She is described by one who has known her for
several years as "having a high nature, and instincts unerringly
toward high things."
HISTORY XXXV.--Miss B., artist, of German ancestry on the
paternal side. Among her brothers and sisters, one is of neurotic
temperament and another is inverted. She is herself healthy. She
has no repugnance to men, and would even like to try marriage, if
the union were not permanent, but she has seldom felt any sexual
attraction to a man. In one exceptional instance, early in life,
realizing that she was not adapted for heterosexual
relationships, she broke off the engagement she had formed. Much
later in life, she formed a more permanent relationship with a
man of congenial tastes.
She is attracted to women of various kinds, though she recognizes
that there are some women to whom only men are attracted. Many
years since she had a friend to whom she was very strongly
attached, but the physical manifestations do not appear to have
become pronounced. After that her thoughts were much occupied by
several women to whom she made advances, which were not
encouraged to pass beyond ordinary friendship. In one case,
however, she formed an intimate relationship with a girl somewhat
younger than herself, and a very feminine personality, who
accepted Miss B.'s ardent love with pleasure, but in a passive
manner, and did not consider that the relationship would stand in
the way of her marrying, though she would on no account tell her
husband. The relationship for the first time aroused Miss B.'s
latent sexual emotions. She found sexual satisfaction in kissing
and embracing her friend's body, but there appeared to be no
orgasm. The relationship made a considerable change in her, and
rendered her radiant and happy.
In her behavior toward men Miss B. reveals no sexual shyness. Men
are not usually attracted to her. There is nothing striking in
her appearance; her person and manners, though careless, are not
conspicuously man-like. She is fond of exercise and smokes a good
deal.
HISTORY XXXVI.--Miss H., aged 30. Among her paternal relatives
there is a tendency to eccentricity and to nervous disease. Her
grandfather drank; her father was eccentric and hypochondriacal,
and suffered from obsessions. Her mother and mother's relatives
are entirely healthy, and normal in disposition.
At the age of 4 she liked to see the nates of a little girl who
lived near. When she was about 6, the nurse-maid, sitting in the
fields, used to play with her own parts, and told her to do
likewise, saying it would make a baby come; she occasionally
touched herself in consequence, but without producing any effect
of any kind. When she was about 8 she used to see various
nurse-maids uncover their children's sexual parts and show them
to each other. She used to think about this when alone, and also
about whipping. She never cared to play with dolls, and in her
games always took the part of a man. Her first rudimentary
sex-feelings appeared at the age of 8 or 9, and were associated
with dreams of whipping and being whipped, which were most vivid
between the ages of 11 and 14, when they died away on the
appearance of affection for girls. She menstruated at 12.
Her earliest affection, at the age of 13, was for a schoolfellow,
a graceful, coquettish girl with long golden hair and blue eyes.
Her affection displayed itself in performing all sorts of small
services for this girl, in constantly thinking about her, and in
feeling deliciously grateful for the smallest return. At the age
of 14 she had a similar passion for a girl cousin; she used to
look forward with ecstasy to her visits, and especially to the
rare occasions when the cousin slept with her; her excitement was
then so great that she could not sleep, but there was no
conscious sexual excitement. At the age of 15 or 16 she fell in
love with another cousin; her experiences with this girl were
full of delicious sensations; if the cousin only touched her
neck, a thrill went through her body which she now regards as
sexual. Again, at 17, she had an overwhelming, passionate
fascination for a schoolfellow, a pretty, commonplace girl, whom
she idealized and etherealized to an extravagant extent. This
passion was so violent that her health was, to some extent,
impaired; but it was purely unselfish, and there was nothing
sexual in it. On leaving school at the age of 19 she met a girl
of about the same age as herself, very womanly, but not much
attracted to men. This girl became very much attached to her, and
sought to gain her love. After some time Miss H. was attracted by
this love, partly from the sense of power it gave her, and an
intimate relation grew up. This relation became vaguely physical,
Miss H. taking the initiative, but her friend desiring such
relations and taking extreme pleasure in them; they used to touch
and kiss each other tenderly (especially on the _mons veneris_),
with equal ardor. They each experienced a strong pleasurable
feeling in doing this, and sexual erethism, but no orgasm, and it
does not appear that this ever occurred. Their general behavior
to each other was that of lovers, but they endeavored, as far as
possible, to hide this fact from the world. This relation lasted
for several years, and would have continued, had not Miss H.'s
friend, from religious and moral scruples, put an end to the
physical relationship. Miss H. had been very well and happy
during this relationship; the interference with it seems to have
exerted a disturbing influence, and also to have aroused her
sexual desires, though she was still scarcely conscious of their
real nature.
Soon afterward another girl of exceedingly voluptuous type made
love to Miss H., to which the latter yielded, giving way to her
feelings as well as to her love of domination. She was afterward
ashamed of this episode, though the physical element in it had
remained vague and indefinite. Her remorse was so great that when
her friend, repenting her scruples, implored her to let their
relationship be on the same footing as of old, Miss H., in her
return, resisted every effort to restore the physical relation.
She kept to this resolution for some years, and sought to divert
her thoughts into intellectual channels. When she again formed an
intimate relationship it was with a congenial friend, and lasted
for several years.
She has never masturbated. Occasionally, but very rarely, she has
had dreams of riding accompanied by pleasurable sexual emotions
(she cannot recall any actual experience to suggest this, though
fond of riding). She has never had any kind of sexual dreams
about a man; of late years she has occasionally had erotic dreams
about women.
Her feeling toward men is friendly, but she has never had sexual
attraction toward a man. She likes them as good comrades, as men
like each other. She enjoys the society of men on account of
their intellectual attraction. She is herself very active in
social and intellectual work. Her feeling toward marriage has
always been one of repugnance. She can, however, imagine a man
whom she could love or marry.
She is attracted to womanly women, sincere, reserved, pure, but
courageous in character. She is not attracted to intellectual
women, but at the same time cannot endure silly women. The
physical qualities that attract her most are not so much beauty
of face as a graceful, but not too slender, body with beautiful
curves. The women she is drawn to are usually somewhat younger
than herself. Women are much attracted to her, and without any
effort on her part. She likes to take the active part and
protecting rôle with them. She is herself energetic in character,
and with a somewhat neurotic temperament.
She finds sexual satisfaction in tenderly touching, caressing,
and kissing the loved one's body. (There is no _cunnilinctus_,
which she regards with abhorrence.) She feels more tenderness
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